I have often heard it said “wouldn’t it be nice to be young
again, but still have all the wisdom of age”. This thought just came up in my
mind. I’ve just finished watching a movie on my flight from Istanbul to Nice
about second chances. It just dawned on me that I am on the brink of what may
be very similar to a second chance.

When I was 21 (14 years ago… an astrological significant
number too, I think) I also embarked on long journey. The first away from my
family, friends and comfort zone. Something happened to me on that journey,
something that I have never been able to explain to myself. I became paralyzed –
emotionally and mentally paralyzed. I just couldn’t do anything I had set out
to do. It wasn’t that I failed as such. I just didn’t even try. I still feel
really ashamed and puzzled when I think about it.

These thoughts and fears have been surfacing again, just as
I get ready for my second long journey away from my family, friends and comfort
zone. But I am such a different person today than I was 14 years ago. I like to
think that life has forged me into sturdier stuff. I look forward to this
second chance and to proving to myself that I am the free spirited, go getting
person I have always wanted to be.

As I write
this I am sitting at Istanbul airport, it’s 05h54 in the morning in South
Africa. I am as well as I could be, considering we were fed breakfast at 03h45
in the morning on our flight.

I am
usually a big fan of aeroplane food. There is something exciting about all the
little packages. To most people this seems weird, but I think the reason for my
enthusiasm is the fact that mostly when I’m on a long flight I’m off somewhere
exciting. This, coupled with the fact that I am blown away when I think of the
logistics involved in getting thousands of these meals served in mostly a
reasonably edible state, hot, thousands of meters up in the air.

That said,
last night’s dinner was one of my more disappointing meals.

I am now
staring a 9 hour layover in the face and feeling less than enthusiastic about
the food court I saw earlier. My tummy needs gentle, light and soothing food
today. I would kill for a bowl of the kiddies chicken and veg soup I trained
last week. It uses the simplest ingredients and seasoning and even though it
was created with young kids in mind, it is perfect for simple adult comfort
food too. I want some… oh, it’s only 06h08 in the morning… and I’m not anywhere
near home cooking… will have to just live vicariously through the recipe below
then.

Fry
the onion in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the carrot, stock, coconut
milk and thyme and simmer for 5 minutes or until the carrot softens. Add
the chicken, peas and sweet corn and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

I started working with a new client this week who is strictly kosher and has recently been put onto a gluten and sugar free diet. We have had two lessons already and have had so much fun! It's amazing to me how restrictions can be the best catalyst for creativity. I have been over flowing with ideas.It means the world to me to be able to help someone find joy and excitement in cooking and eating. One of the dishes we made together last week was a salmon and spinach pie. It is ultra simple, really allowing each flavor to shine.

Salmon and spinach pie

Serves 4

3 medium sized potatoes, peeled and
diced

300g of salmon, lightly steamed until
flaky (or fish of choice)

2 Tbsp of olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

300g of spinach, well washed and
roughly chopped

Freshly ground black pepper

Salt

1/8 of a nutmeg, finely grated

Coconut cream

Set your potatoes boiling, preheat the oven to 200˚C and place the rack
in the middle of the oven.

Get the salmon steaming, this should take about 10 – 15 minutes. Lightly
salt and pepper the salmon before steaming.

In a large non stick pan heat the olive oil and gently fry the onion and
garlic for a few minutes. Add the spinach and fry with the onion. Add a splash
or two of water from tiem to time to create steam which will cook the spinach
faster. Cook until just tender.

Once the potatoes are soft, drain and mash until smooth. Stir in coconut
cream until the desired consistency is achieved. Season with salt and pepper.

In a small casserole dish, layer the spinach in the bottom of the pan.
Flake the salmon and spread that out over the spinach. Spoon the mash over the
salmon.

Place this in the oven and bake until heated through and golden on top.
You can spead this up by put the grill on for a few minutes.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Last week I mentioned that my life might be turned upside down for a while but it wasn't 100% confirmed yet. Well... now it has been. I am flying on Monday to the South of France to cook on board a yacht for four months. I kick off in Monaco for the Grand Prix and after that, I have no idea... but I have just bought a fabulous new camera with the expressed idea of taking loads of photos of my adventure.

I will be blogging whenever I get the time to write and the internet connection to upload!

But on that note - I am absolutely knackered from trying to pack in as many bookings as I can before I leave, and am off to one in half an hour, so today's post is one which I really don't think needs much introduction. Beef goulash, who doesn't love this hearty winter warmer!?

Slow
braised beef goulash

Serves 6

1 Tbsp of
olive oil

1 large
onion, peeled and chopped

2 cloves
of garlic, peeled and chopped

800g of
beef goulash chunks

1 x 400ml
can of tomatoes

50g of tomato paste

250ml of
beef stock

20g of
dried mushrooms (porcini, chanterelle or shiitake are good)

1 cup of
carrot, grated

½ tsp of
black pepper

1 Tbsp of
paprika

1 tsp of
mild curry powder

1 tsp of mixed
spice

2 tsp of
salt (or to taste)

1 Tbsp of
sugar (or to taste)

Heat the
oil in a large pot and add the onions and garlic, frying them for a few
minutes. Add the beef and brown the meat for few minutes. Add the all the
remaining ingredients, except the salt and sugar, and leave on a very low
simmer for 3 – 4 hours.

Add water
as needed while the stew is cooking so that it doesn’t dry out. Season with
salt and sugar to taste and serve with rice, potatoes or crusty bread.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A client of mine asked me to teach her housekeeper to make, among other things, Chicken a la King. She has two small children and knows that this is a mild comfort food dish which kids usually love. But when she email me her request she added to the request - 'but not too 90's style'. This innocent little dish has gotten quite a bad rep due to being done to death from at least the 70's through to the 90's - every granny, canteen and boarding house has had some dreary version of it. No wonder many of us shudder at the mention. I did however train it today and it was delicious. I kept the recipe ultra simple but used the best ingredients I could find at Woolies. Quick, easy and super moreish! Long live Chicken a la King.

In a large pan on high heat fry the
mushrooms in the butter and oil with the salt and pepper for about 5 minutes. Add
the onion and fry for a few minutes. Add the chicken and the peppers, season
with salt and pepper; and fry for a few minutes. Add the chicken stock and fry
for a few minutes. Add the cream and corn starch paste and stir until slightly
thickened. Remove from the heat and check the seasoning.

Monday, May 14, 2012

I did a lesson this weekend with a family where the one daughter is gluten intolerant. For dessert had I suggested gluten free chocolate brownies. They were delighted with this suggestion as they all love brownies and with a gluten free version the whole family could enjoy them.

I had seen a recipe recently on the Source Management facebook page for a chocolate almond torte. Now a chocolate torte and brownies have many similarities, so much so that I would be willing to bet that the original brownie recipe is derived from a chocolate torte recipe. So I used this recipe as the basis for the gluten free chocolate brownies I made over the weekend.

I however couldn't resist making it for Adam and I as well, but in its torte form. It is super rich in flavour, moist and dense. An absolute must for all chocolate lovers.

Preheat the oven to 180°C and place the rack in
the middle of the oven. Grease and line a 20cm cake tin.

Place the butter and chocolate into a bowl and
microwave for 10 – 20 second intervals until the mixture starts to melt, then
stir it slowly until the unmelted pieces have melted from the heat of the rest
of the mixture and is thick and glossy in texture. Do not be tempted to heat it for long intervals as it will split and be spoiled.

With an electric cake mixer, beat the eggs,
vanilla essence, salt and sugar until light and pale in colour. Stir in the
melted chocolate and butter mixture into the whisked eggs. The gently fold the
ground almonds, baking powder and chopped nuts (if using) into the mixture.

Pour this into the baking tin and bake in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes or
until just becoming firm to the touch. (The skewer test
may not work as the cake should still be moist in the centre).

Remove this from the oven from the oven and
allow to cool for 15 minutes in the tin before turning it out and cooling
completely.

Monday, May 7, 2012

About 10 days ago my life got picked up by the ankles and shaken vigorously. In a good way, but also in a totally life changing way... (no, I'm not pregnant, will everyone stop asking!). I'm not going to tell you what it is quite yet, but it will be really exciting if it all happens. This though has been in between a very busy work time, many important social commitments and a severe dose of the flu.

So during this all, I've had very little time for serious food preparation. It's been about simple, sensible, comfort food, laced with some serious sweetie binges, which I blame completely on stress. However, there is one recipe I cooked which I would like to share with you.

Now when I say it is a recipe for butternut soup, it may seem a bit of a let down. Hold back, not all butternut soup recipes are created equal. It may be a staple South African winter recipe and right next bolognaise in terms of an entry level repertoire. But this one stood out to me because it was so very very simple, subtly different from the norm and totally delicious.

Adam's cousin made it for us and I just had to have the recipe. I remade it and it was just as delicious. Now I insist on sharing it with you all!

Aromatic butternut soupServes 4 - 6

1 Tbsp of olive oil

1 medium onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp of fresh ginger, peeled and
chopped

1 tsp of ground coriander

1 tsp of ground cumin

½ tsp of ground cinnamon

½ tsp of cayenne pepper (leave it out
or reduce if you don’t like spicy food)

1 x 400g can of coconut milk or
cream

1 cup of water (or more if it is
still too thick)

1 medium sized butternut (about 500g),
peeled and chopped

2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
(or one normal and one sweet potato)

1 can of butterbeans, drained

Salt to taste

In a medium to large pot, fry the
onion, garlic and ginger in the oil until soft but not browning. Add the spices
and fry for 30 seconds or so, to release the flavours. Add the coconut milk and
water and stir to combine all the flavours. Add the chopped potato and butternut
and cook until tender.

Once tender, add the butterbeans and
puree in the pot until smooth with a hand blender (or in a food processor if
you don’t have one). Season with salt to taste.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

As many of you know, I have a lot to say on the braaing topic and most of that is not very good. Today I will say nothing other than good things. A friend of ours from Berlin and her South African boyfriend invited us to a braai. This braai was one of the nicest I have been to in a very long time. Apart from the weather being balmy (the last for weeks to come), the company being relaxed and congenial and bubbles flowing; the food was also exceptional.

Our German friend made a starter to die for, of roasted aubergines with a cumin yogurt sauce topped with pomegranate seeds. The aubergine flesh was cut criss-cross and seasoned with salt, pepper, fresh thyme, sesame seeds and olive oil then roasted in the oven until soft. The yogurt was Greek yogurt, seasoned with a little garlic, salt, pepper and cumin. We ate the dish warm (not hot), just like that and it was sublime. Gorgeous to look at, subtle flavors and the perfect start our meal.

The braai meat and mielies (sweetcorn) came to the table soon after accompanied by sesame potatoes which had been halved rubbed in olive oil and a little salt, then the under side pressed in sesame seeds until crusted and placed face down on a baking sheet. This was then baked until tender and slightly crisping. The sesame seeds don't burn because they are face down on the baking sheet. This was served with a tzatziki made with grated cucumber and Greek yogurt seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper.

The combination was matchless and I look forward to including them into my repertoire soon! Thank you so much Julia and Lebo.